Shattered
by Irony-chan
Summary: Tohru is thrilled to be invited to the Souma new year's celebration... but what happens there will change everything, and the family will need her more than ever as they try to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives.
1. I: An Invitation

**SHATTERED**  
By Irony-chan

* * *

_Yesterday, each piece in place  
My clock's hands spun across its face  
The cuckoo chirped its cheerful songs  
Each tick and tock where it belongs  
Each spring was wound exactly right  
And I slept sound and safe at night_

_Today, all the bits are all over the floor  
And I don't know how anything works anymore  
And all the king's horses and all the king's men  
Cannot put my clock back together again_

- M. J. Chapman

* * *

  
I: An Invitation

You know, Mom, one of the funny things about the way human beings are wired is that if you see the same person every single day, all the time, they can change right in front of your eyes and you won't even notice. Sometimes something that happened really slowly can be a big surprise... like it was when Momiji came to the door on New Year's Eve. I'd been seeing him every day at school, so it wasn't until right that moment that I realized how much taller he'd grown.

"Hi, Tohru!" he said, craning his neck to peek out from behind the giant box he was carrying. There were snowflakes in his hair and his cheeks were pink from the chilly wind. "Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year to you, too, Momiji!" I said. "Wow, when did you get to be so tall? You're almost as tall as I am!"

"I know!" He grinned proudly. "I am going through a growth spurt. My Daddy's six feet tall – do you know what that means?"

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"It means," Momiji replied, speaking much more loudly than necessary, "that someday I'm gonna be taller than Kyo!"

"Huh?" Kyo's head appeared around the corner from the dining room, and he made a face when he saw Momiji. "Oh, it's you," he said. "I guess you're here to butter up Tohru some more, right?"

"It's not _my_ fault if you and Yuki have no idea how to treat a girl," Momiji told him. "Anyway, Tohru, may I come in, please?"

"Oh!" I stepped out of the way. "Sorry! Of course you can. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to leave you standing out there in the snow! Here," I added, sliding the door shut behind him. "Let me take your coat and scarf."

"Thanks!" He handed them to me and kicked his shoes off. "Let's go into the dining room, where the heater is. I've got a special present for everybody today!"

Kyo grunted. "As long as it's not another hot spring trip."

"Nope!" Momiji shook his head. "Even better!"

As well as Kyo, Yuki was in the dining room having tea and cookies, with the table blanket wrapped around his legs. He looked up and smiled as Momiji and I came in.

"Hi, Yuki!" said Momiji. "Is Shigure home?"

Yuki nodded. "He's upstairs... writing, I think. He said something about his fair muse bringing him the sweet wine and honey of inspiration." He rolled his eyes and picked up his teacup. "I think he's probably writing smut again."

"I'll go look for him," Momiji offered.

"Oh, no, I can't make you do that," I said. "You're a guest! Just sit down and have some tea – it's fresh! I'll find Shigure myself. Do you want me to take that box for you, too?" I asked, holding out my hands for it.

But he shook his head. "Uh-uh," he said, blond curls bouncing. "Not just yet. I've got something for you, Tohru, but I want to wait until everybody's here before I give it to you. That way," he added, "we can all help to talk you into accepting it!"

I had a pretty good idea what _that_ meant – he'd brought me something expensive, something that I didn't deserve and that would embarrass me. I was about to protest, but before I could, Kyo's fist came down on top of Momiji's head.

"You little bastard," he snarled. "I _knew_ you just wanted to show us up again! Maybe I ought to stick your head back in the toilet..."

"Kyo!" I exclaimed.

Momiji ducked out from under his cousin and pushed the taller boy's hand away. "Maybe if you'd ever get her any presents at all, you wouldn't have to rag on _me_ for it," he said

"It's all right," I said. "Really – nobody has to get me anything. Mom and I never had much money, you know, so I'm not used to getting a lot of presents for new year's or my birthday, or any other time, really! If I got a lot of gifts, I wouldn't know what to do with them all, so it's better if you don't. Momiji," I added, "there are chocolate chip cookies if you want them. I'll just go and get Shigure..."

But as it turned out, Shigure must have heard us talking, because he was already on his way downstairs. "I thought I heard a commotion," he said, leaning in the dining room doorway. "Look who's here! I haven't seen you in a long time, Momiji – you're getting tall."

"I know!" the rabbit beamed. "Everybody sit down now. I have a present for Tohru!"

I nodded. "Just let me get you some tea," I said.

But Momiji shook his head. "Sit!" he said, pointing a finger to the floor at my feet.

"Er... all right." I obediently knelt down on the floor.

"Much better!" said Momiji. "_Now_ you can take the box." He presented it to me with a flourish – it was a big, plain white box with a red ribbon tied around it, and heavy. When I shook it, it sounded like it contained clothes. "Open it!" Momiji urged me. "Open it! Open it!"

His enthusiasm was really making me nervous. I couldn't imagine what I was going to find in that box, but I knew it had to be something way too good for me... and I was right. When I undid the ribbon and took the lid off – feeling very self-conscious with Shigure, Yuki, Kyo and Momiji all staring at me while I did – I found that inside was a beautiful pink kimono, all patterned with brown and white butterflies.

"Oh, Momiji!" I said, feeling my cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I can't possibly take this!"

"Of course you can," said Shigure. "It'll look lovely on you! Pretty girls deserve pretty things, I always say, and..."

"I can't!" I repeated, shaking my head hard.

"But if you don't," Momiji said, "what are you going to wear to the new year's party?"

I hesitated. "New year's party?"

"What new year's party?" Yuki wanted to know.

Momiji smiled like a miniature sun. "That's right! That's my present for everybody – Tohru has been officially invited to the Souma new year's celebration! After all, she's been living here for so long. It's been more than a year now... she's practically an honourary Souma, so of course she was invited!"

"But I..."

"Please, Tohru?" asked Momiji. "You _have_ to! It'll be so much fun! It's Hatori's turn to dance this year... though I guess you won't be seeing that, since even if you are almost a Souma you're not cursed. But there'll be a big dinner and games and songs and everything, and you can meet the rest of the zodiac... there's still two you haven't seen yet, aren't there? I'm sure they're dying to meet you. I've been telling them all about how nice you are. Please, Tohru, please?" He grabbed my arm, coming very close to hugging me and transforming.

"But..." I said again.

"Hey, hold on a minute, here," protested Kyo, peeling Momiji off me.

"Yeah," Yuki agreed. "Momiji, who invited her? She can't come without Akito's permission and he'd never give it. You know that."

"He did, though," said Momiji. "He's the one who said she could come."

My heart jumped into my throat. Akito had said that? I didn't know whether to be delighted or terrified, and neither, from the looks of it, did Yuki or Kyo. "He did?" asked Yuki. "That can't be right..."

"He did," Momiji nodded. "I promise you he did!"

"Did he say why?"

"Uh-huh," said Momiji. "He said what I just said: Tohru's almost a Souma herself after all this time, so she ought to be there. I swear."

"That doesn't sound like Akito," said Yuki.

"Damn straight it doesn't," Kyo agreed.

I didn't think so, either. The last time I'd seen the head of the Souma household, he'd seemed like he hated me enough to strangle me. I hadn't seen him at all in the months since, but he hadn't tried to bother us much. "Maybe he had a change of heart," I suggested.

Yuki snorted. "Akito doesn't have a heart to change."

"Of course he does," I said. "He's still a human being, isn't he? Maybe he's just trying to be nice. And besides, I'll be safe if I've got you two there with me, won't I?"

The boys didn't look so sure about that, but Shigure spoke up for them. "Well, one thing's for sure," he announced, "if she doesn't come we're not going to be able to make her keep that kimono, and I _know_ you two want to see her in it." He shook his head. "Teenage boys are all alike, nothing but gushing hormones, all the time!"

"You're one to talk," Yuki and Kyo said at the same time.

Shigure, as usual, ignored them. "It's settled then – Tohru can go to a proper party instead of sitting home, we can find out what Akito wants, and you two little lechers can see Tohru dressed up. We all win!"

That was pretty much the end of the conversation... but I could tell that Yuki and Kyo still disagreed. They just didn't want to say so because they were too frightened of Akito. Maybe he did just want to be nice to me, but I still couldn't help being a little worried. Why _did_ he want me at the party? I was more a servant than a member of the family, and the Soumas were so insular... it was a mystery.

One thing was sure, though – no matter what happened, this would be a new year's to remember. Oh, Mom... I wish I'd known when I thought of that just how true it would turn out to be.


	2. II: An Accident

****

> **SHATTERED**  
By Irony-chan

* * *

II: An Accident  
  
Shigure pulled up one sleeve to check his watch. "Well, Tohru," he said, "if we're going, then you'd better head upstairs and get changed. Not much time left, you know."  
  
I nodded and stood, holding Momiji's kimono – I couldn't _possibly_ think of it as mine – as carefully as I could. It was so beautiful, I was half terrified that I would somehow damage it just by touching it, and I still couldn't believe that anyone would really give me something like that. He was going to want it back after the party, I was certain, so I had to take good care of it.  
  
"Right!" I said, then gave the kimono another dubious look and added, "I think I'll need some help with this, though. I don't think I can put it on all by myself. Whenever I wore a kimono before, Mom always used to help me tie the _obi_, and..."  
  
"I'll help you!" Momiji bounced to his feet.  
  
"_Oh, no, you won't_!" said Yuki and Kyo in unison. They grabbed him by the jacket and dragged him back to the floor.  
  
"Aw, but _somebody_ has to!" he whined. "Tohru just _said_!"  
  
"Well, it's sure as hell not gonna be _you_, you little brat," snarled Kyo. "For somebody who looks so damn innocent, you've sure got a dirty little mind!"  
  
Momiji balled up his fists and burst into crocodile tears. "Kyo's picking on me again!" he wailed. "Tohru, make him stop!"  
  
I'm afraid I didn't answer. I always feel so helpless whenever people start arguing, and I worry that if I speak up, I'll only make it worse. But I did notice that Momiji's tantrum wasn't quite so effective anymore now that he looked more like a teenager instead of a small child.  
  
"All right, all right, that's enough out of all of you." Shigure stood up. "If somebody needs to help her, I'll do it."  
  
This time, all _three_ boys spoke at once. "_You_?" they asked.  
  
"Of course, me!" said Shigure, smiling. "I'll have you know I'm very good at tying _obi_! When I was your age, there were these two girls who _always_ asked me for help with theirs, and I got to be..."  
  
"Oh, oh!" said Momiji, raising his hand as if in school. "I've heard this one from Hari – he's talking about his stepmom and his little sister!"  
  
Shigure looked hurt. "Momiji! Ruin my fun, why don't you?" He shook his head. "But all joking aside, I'm probably better at it than any of you are. Tohru, you run up to your room and get changed, and call me when you need my help."  
  
The boys relaxed visibly, and looked at me.  
  
"Right!" I repeated. "I'll be right back!" Clutching the kimono to my chest, I hurried up the stairs.  
  
Oh, Mom, I'd never worn anything half so nice! Putting on that kimono made me feel so spoiled, just like I felt on Momiji's hot spring trip! But when I saw my reflection in the mirror, it made me feel foolish instead. I didn't deserve this, and instead of looking like a princess, I probably just looked silly.  
  
"Shigure!" I called. "I'm ready now!"  
  
I shouted because I figured he'd still be downstairs with Yuki, Kyo, and Momiji, but he slid the door open and came in right away, as if he'd just been out in the hallway waiting. "Turn around," he told me, so I did, and stood very still, craning my neck to watch in the mirror while he pulled the _obi_ tight and tied it in a butterfly knot. He _was_ good at it – I've never seen anyone do it so quickly! I guess it's like Kyo and his riceball making. Sometimes, people are very good at small things you wouldn't expect.  
  
"There!" He adjusted it and then stood back. "Let's take a look."  
  
I held my arms out and turned around in place, feeling my face getting hot as I did. I must have turned so red, Mom... but I probably blushed even harder when Shigure shook his head and whistled.  
  
"Tohru, Tohru, Tohru," he said. "My, my. I can't believe you haven't broken half the hearts at your school yet!"  
  
"Oh!" I protested, holding up my hands in self-defense. "I don't think I could ever break anybody's heart! I couldn't do that to somebody!"  
  
"Well, I know you wouldn't do it on purpose." Shigure winked. "Come on downstairs. I'll bet the boys are dying to get a look."  
  
I nodded and followed him, but I was so embarrassed by what he'd said to me, Mom, that I didn't realize until I was almost back in the kitchen that I'd completely forgotten about _you_.  
  
"Wait!" I said, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "Just a minute, I have to go get something!" I ran back up the stairs just as fast as I could to get you, and of course there you were on my night table. You'll remember I apologized to you and tucked you under the _obi_ before going back downstairs.  
  
"And here she is!" Shigure said, as I entered the kitchen.  
  
I looked at my toes. What if they thought I looked silly?  
  
"Hooray!" Momiji clapped. "Tohru, you look beautiful!"  
  
"I do?" I asked, raising my head. Momiji was beaming, while Kyo and Yuki were both staring with eyes so huge they looked as if they might pop out.  
  
"Oh, yes!" he nodded, curls bouncing. "Come on, everybody, let's go! I don't wanna be late for the party!"  
  
Things were happening so fast it was as if I was being swept along in a river. We all got our jackets and made sure that the lights were out and the dinner I'd made for myself was in the fridge for tomorrow, and then off we went. It had been months since I'd been back to Souma house, and although everybody else seemed perfectly calm, every step I took made me more and more nervous. What was Akito going to do? What was he going to _say_ to me? And what should I say to _him_? There was so much to be worried about, it started to make me dizzy!  
  
But I felt much better when we actually arrived. Whenever I'd been to Souma House before, it always looked so empty and somber, as if it were a museum or something where nobody actually lived. But now the gates were open, and the entire place was lit up with hundreds of little coloured lights. I could hear music and smell good food cooking... it really looked like a place where there was going to be a party tonight! And there were people, too; almost a dozen of them, dressed in colourful clothes, were standing outside the entrance talking and laughing, and as we approached, another car pulled up to the gates.  
  
"Oh, Kureno's here!" Momiji exclaimed, waving to the car. "He probably can't talk right now, but you'll meet him later, Tohru. He's the rooster! Hi, Kureno!" he called.  
  
The car had tinted windows, so I couldn't see very much of inside, but the silhouette of somebody in the driver's seat waved back as we passed. Momiji grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the group on the other side of the gates.  
  
"Come meet everybody!" he said.  
  
I nodded nervously as I let him drag me along. I hadn't been here five minutes yet and I'd already seen, if not actually met, another member of the zodiac. That meant there was only one left, and if Kureno was the rooster, the missing one had to be the horse. What were the two of them going to be like?  
  
"Look, look, everyone!" Momiji announced to the people. "It's Honda Tohru!"  
  
"Big sister!" exclaimed a voice, and a little girl squeezed out from among the legs of the grownups and came running towards me, arms held out. "Big sister Tohru! You really came!"  
  
"Kisa!" I pulled my wrist out of Momiji's hand and ran to give her a hug. "I'm so happy to see you... and you look so grown-up and pretty in that!" She was wearing a little cream-coloured kimono with purple and white tulips on it.  
  
"Thank you," she said. "My Mom made this for me, and she made yours, too. It was ordered specially."  
  
"Did she really?" I asked. Where was Kisa's Mom? I would have to thank her. "I didn't know your Mom could sew," I added, "that's amazing!"  
  
"She is!" Kisa agreed happily.  
  
I started to ask her where Hiro was, since I figured if Kisa were here he couldn't be far away – the two of them were inseparable, and it was so cute – but I never got it out. I didn't really see what happened, but I remember noticing out of the corner of my eye that another car went by behind us. Then a horn honked and a woman shouted for us to look out, and the next thing I knew, Kyo grabbed both Kisa and me and pushed us onto the ground. There was a puff of orange smoke as he transformed, then the smash of breaking glass, and several people cried out in surprise or fear.  
  
When everything cleared, I was sitting on the pavement with Kisa clinging to me, and my arms and legs were shaking like jelly. The car Kureno had been driving hadn't gone inside yet, but was still sitting in the gate with the engine running... and another vehicle had run into it from behind. All of the windows were smashed and the back end had been crumpled up like origami paper.  
  
"Oh, my god!" The door of the second car opened and a man got out. "I am so sorry! That other guy cut me off and I didn't see... is everybody all right?"  
  
"Yes, we're fine," I assured him, but nobody else said anything; they were all staring at something inside the gate. I got up, still shaking all over, and stumbled over to see what they were all staring at.  
  
A brown-haired boy who must have been Kureno was sitting at the wheel of the smashed car, with the half-deflated airbag hanging in his lap. He looked like he was okay; his face was very white and there was blood in his hair, but his eyes were open and he was breathing. However, he hadn't been the only person in the car.  
  
Mom, I have never seen anything so awful... the other man must not have been wearing his seat belt, because when the other car hit, he'd been thrown right through the windshield and was now lying on the road on front of the car, not moving at all. There was broken glass all around him. After a moment, I couldn't look anymore and turned away.  
  
But then I forced myself to look again, because I'd just realized who that was, and couldn't believe it.  
  
Mom... it was Akito.


	3. III: An Emergency

**  
SHATTERED**  
By Irony-Chan

* * *

I didn't know what to do, Mom. I mean, he was just _lying_ there, almost as if he was dead! I'd never seen a car accident up so close before, and what are you supposed to _do_ when it's somebody you know, there on the ground with broken glass all around him and blood on his face? I had no idea how to respond, and... well, you know what I get like in these situations. I completely panicked.  
  
"Oh, no!" I exclaimed. "This is bad! Somebody, we have to call an ambulance or a doctor or... or something, and get him in to a safe place off the street and keep him warm – or no, no, we can't, you're not supposed to move somebody who's hurt, but if we leave him there somebody might..."  
  
"Here!" The man from the other car reached for something in his belt. "I have a cellular phone!" he announced. "I'll call the hospital!"  
  
"No!" Shigure stepped up to the man and grabbed his wrist to stop him, then smiled at him. "It's all right," he said. "We have his personal doctor here in the house. Everybody just needs to stay calm. Momiji," he added, "run and get Hatori, right away."  
  
"Right!" Momiji climbed over the hood of the car and ran into Souma House.  
  
"Now everybody else, just stay back and don't touch him," Shigure went on. "Tohru's right, you know – if he's hurt badly, moving him might make it worse. For now, let's find out if Kureno's okay."  
  
This seemed to help everybody. People started moving around and talking again right away, and Yuki, together with some of the people who'd been outside the gate when we arrived, opened the car door and helped Kureno to get out. His eyes were huge and he was shaking so hard I could see it, even from ten feet away, but he kept saying, "I'm all right, I'm all right." It looked like he was just in shock, not hurt.  
  
I was really surprised how easily Shigure took charge of the situation. He acts so silly most of the time, I wouldn't have expected him to do that... but when I thought about it, I realized that this really wasn't the first time. Shigure's actually really smart about handling people, and he never seems to have to shout to make his point. When he has something important to say, he can make everybody listen to him without needing to get angry. I think that's a really useful skill for somebody to have, even if most people wouldn't call it a 'skill' at all.  
  
You used to be able to do that, too, Mom.  
  
"Big sister Tohru?" Kisa tugged on my sleeve. "Are you okay?"  
  
I looked down; she looked awfully scared, and was holding on to kitty-Kyo so hard I hoped he could breathe. "Oh, yes, I'm fine," I said, smiling to reassure her. "What about you?"  
  
"I'm okay," she agreed, managing to smile back.  
  
Kyo squirmed in her arms. "Hey," he said. "You wanna put me down, maybe?"  
  
"Sorry, big brother Kyo." Kisa set him down immediately.  
  
He jumped out of her hands just before reaching the ground. "And I'm not your big brother," he added, sitting down with his back to us and looking sulky. Cats are very, very good at looking sulky.  
  
"C-c-c...cat," said a voice.  
  
I looked up and was horrified to realize that the man from the other car was still there, standing and watching us with one hand on his cellular phone. "C-cat," he repeated, pointing a shaking finger at Kyo. "T-talking c-c-cat!"  
  
Oh, _no_! Tonight had already been a disaster and now this complete stranger had found out about the curse... and Hatori had told me once that even a lot of people _in_ the Souma family didn't know about it, so maybe all these other people just had, too! What were we going to do?  
  
"W-what talking cat?" I asked, looking around wildly. "I don't see any talking cat!"  
  
There was only one thing that could have made the situation any worse, and then it happened: there was a 'pop' and a cloud of smoke, and Kyo transformed back into his human self. I yelped and covered my eyes, then uncovered them long enough to make Kisa turn around before quickly closing them up again. This was a catastrophe!  
  
"B-but..." the man stammered. "C-c-c-cat!"  
  
"It's all right," I heard Shigure say. "Our friend Hatori will explain everything – it's really quite simple! Ah, and here he comes right now... Kyo, get some clothes on, please."  
  
I opened one eye, careful not to point it in the direction of Kyo, and saw Momiji come running up with Hatori in tow. I'd never seen Hatori wearing anything but his doctor's jacket or a very conservative western-style vest and tie before, so it was a bit of a shock to see him now: he was all dressed up in this big, fancy flowing costume! I couldn't imagine what it was for until I remember that Momiji had said this was Hatori's year to perform a dance at the zodiac banquet... perhaps that was his costume for dancing in?  
  
Whatever it was, it wasn't a good thing to be wearing while treating an accident victim. Hatori had to hold the ends of his robe off the ground as he picked his way through the glass, careful not to step on it in his thin slippers, and knelt down next to Akito to examine him. Nobody seemed to be breathing – except maybe for Kyo, who was right behind me getting dressed and muttering to himself – as we all waited to hear what he'd say.  
  
"He's alive," Hatori announced.  
  
Everybody exhaled at once. It was as if the entire street just went 'woosh!' after he said that.  
  
"However," the doctor added, standing up and nearly wiping his hands on his costume before he managed to stop himself, "he has a broken collarbone and may have internal injuries I can't discern here. It would be best if somebody called an ambulance, at once. I'll go change my clothes and accompany him. Hopefully I'll be able to do some damage control."  
  
"W-w-what about the c-cat?" the man from the car stammered.  
  
Hatori gave the rest of us a questioning look.  
  
"He saw," grumbled Kyo.  
  
"Yes, Hatori," Shigure said cheerfully, "do come and explain the matter to our new friend here! He's dying to know."  
  
"I see. Very well, then." Hatori stepped up in front of the man. "Sir," he said, "if you'd please look at me a moment."  
  
I had never seen Hatori erase anybody's memory before, but I'd seen hypnotists on TV and I had sort of assumed it would be something like that. But it really wasn't like that at all – actually, it was amazingly fast. Hatori just held up a hand in front of the man's face and told him, "you did not see that. There was no cat." The man blinked a couple of times, then his eyes rolled up and Hatori had to catch him before he fell on the ground.  
  
"Is... is he all right?" I asked, as Hatori gently lowered the man's body onto the pavement.  
  
"Yes," the doctor replied. "He'll be unconscious half an hour or so. Tell the paramedics he fainted." He pulled the cellular phone out of its case and dialed. "Hello, emergency? This is Dr. Souma Hatori. There has been a car accident..."  
  
Once the phone call had been made, Hatori hurried back inside to change, and then there was nothing much for anybody to do except stand around and wait for the ambulance. It seemed to take _forever_, but I guess things always do when you're waiting for them... what made it doubly awful, though, was that I could see Akito still lying there with all that glass around him, and I was terrified that he'd die before the ambulance arrived. What would happen if he did? I knew the Soumas didn't seem to like him very much, but he was still the head of the family. What would they do if he died?  
  
Finally, we heard the sound of sirens coming and an ambulance turned the corner and pulled up, followed by a police car. After that, things started happening very fast; two paramedics looked after Akito, putting him on a stretcher and giving him oxygen, while another saw to the man from the other car and a fourth helped Kureno. The policewoman asked everybody a lot of questions about what had happened and about insurance. Hatori came back, dressed in his usual clothes again, and introduced himself to the paramedics as Akito's personal doctor.  
  
All the commotion brought a lot more people out of Souma House to see what was going on. Shigure really hadn't been kidding when he said the entire family got together for New Year's – by the time the paramedics got Akito into the back of the ambulance, there must have been two dozen people at least standing just inside the gate and watching. None of them said anything as the back doors of the ambulance slammed shut and Hatori shook hands with one of the doctors.  
  
"Not to worry, Dr. Souma," he was saying. "Your cousin is in safe hands."  
  
"Thank you," Hatori nodded stiffly. "I'll call later to check up on him."  
  
And then it was all over. The ambulance drove off with its siren blaring, the policewoman got back in her car and the other driver in his, and then all of a sudden, or so it seemed, it was just me and the Soumas, standing around on the street while it began to snow.  
  
"Is he going to die?" a child asked.  
  
"It's impossible to say," Hatori said. "I'm sure they'll tell us as soon as they know."  
  
Another person snorted in obvious disbelief. "Don't tell her that," a man said. "Of _course_ he is. It's the curse."  
  
"Akito's birthday is not for another five months," Hatori replied calmly. "Let's all go inside before someone catches cold. I'd rather not send anybody _else_ to the hospital tonight."  
  
That seemed to be pretty much that, Mom. People did what Hatori said, but everybody was talking in low voices and the air just felt uneasy. I suppose that was only to be expected after a traffic accident, but it still seemed like I had somehow missed something.  
  
"Yuki," I said, touching my classmate's shoulder to get his attention. "What did Hatori mean, about Akito's birthday?"  
  
"It's part of the curse," Yuki replied, his voice toneless. "A lot of members of the Souma family think it's _all_ of the curse. Akito is going to die before he turns twenty-one. We've been expecting something like this to happen for months now."  
  
"Oh," I said quietly. "That's very sad."  
  
Yuki did not reply.


	4. IV: An Agreement

**SHATTERED**

By Irony-chan

* * *

IV: An Agreement

Everybody was very quiet as we all went inside, and I just couldn't seem to stop myself from shaking. Even when I made fists and clenched them as tight as I could, my hands still trembled. I wondered if the party was going to be cancelled now, and while I couldn't blame anybody if they were – after all, a car accident was a terrible thing to have happen, and not many people would feel like celebrating afterwards – it made me a bit sorry. Now I'd have to wait a whole year to find out how the Soumas spent the holidays! I hope that doesn't make me a bad person, Mom.

People inside of Souma House had heard the sirens, and they were standing around out of doors in the snow, whispering to each other and shivering without their jackets on. They gave us some questioning looks, but nobody asked any questions or said anything at all. The first person who spoke was Momiji.

"Hey, Tohru," he said quietly, "look, there's Haru and Rin." He pointed into the crowd, and I saw Hatsuharu talking to a girl with long black hair. Momiji took my hand. "Rin's in the zodiac, too," he said. "She's the horse. Come and meet her. Haru!" he waved.

"Hello, Momiji!" Hatsuharu waved back and smiled, but his expression quickly turned sober again as he and the girl stepped forward to meet us. She wasn't wearing a kimono; instead, she was dressed in a stylish short skirt and tall boots, all in black. The Soumas are such a big family, it sometimes seems that no two of them look alike, but Rin looked a little like Shigure. She was tall and pale, with big dark eyes, and as pretty as a movie star.

"Tohru," said Momiji, "this is Souma Rin. She's Haru's girlfriend, and she's the horse in the zodiac! Rin, this is Honda Tohru."

I bowed very low to her. "It's so nice to meet you!" I said. "I wanted to get to meet the entire zodiac someday, and now I'm so glad that I finally have!"

"It's nice to meet you, too," said Rin. She sounded polite, but indifferent... I got the idea that she really didn't like me very much. "Hatsuharu talks about you all the time."

"Does he?" I asked, my heart jumping into my mouth. What had he _said_? Was it because of somethingI didthat Rin didn't like me?

"Yes," said Rin. "All the boys do. I think half the zodiac is in love with you, Miss Honda."

Oh! So _that_ was why she seemed a bit cold! I quickly held up my hands and shook my head. "Oh, no, don't be silly!" I assured her. I could feel my face flushing, Mom, the idea of anybody being in love with me was so embarrassing. "It's nothing like that – I don't like any of them. I mean, that is, I _like_ them all, but not _that_ way, and I'd _never_ try to come between anybody and their girlfriend! I'm sure you and Hatsuharu are just perfect for each other! You don't need to worry about me!"

Rin smiled politely, then turned and said to Hatsuharu, "I think I'm going to go see what Shigure's doing." And she walked away without even saying goodbye to me. I was heartbroken.

"Don't worry, Tohru," said Momiji. "Rin never likes new people. I'm sure she'll be nicer when she gets to know you."

That helped a bit – after all, Hiro had been jealous of me at first, too, but I liked to think I was his friend now. I'd just have to show Rin that I wasn't going to take Hatsuharu away from her, and maybe everything would be fine.

"Rin and Shigure are first cousins," Momiji went on. "Their fathers were twins – that's why they look alike. They're more closely related than any other two in the zodiac except for Ayame and Yuki."

"I thought they must be related," I agreed – watching them talk to each other, I could see they had very similar profiles. Right behind them, Kureno was sitting down while Hatori made him drink something. Yuki was standing off by himself, and Kyou was grimacing in embarrassment while Kisa told Hiro the story of how he'd saved her life. Momiji and Hatsuharu were of course both with me – all together, that made ten cursed Soumas in the yard! "where is Ayame?" I asked. "And Ritsu and Kagura?" I wanted to see the entire zodiac together!

Hatsuharu looked around. "I don't think Ritsu's here yet," he said. "His family is late every year, and then we always have to listen to them apologize. Ayame's inside; he's been sick, so we left him next to the heater to see if he'd change back. And Kagura should be..."

"_Kyou_!" exclaimed a voice.

"... around here somewhere." Hatsuharu smiled. "Here she comes."

"My love!" Kagura exclaimed, coming barreling out of a building. Kyou turned to run away, but he wasn't fast enough; she tackled him and gave him a great big hug. "You came!" she said, almost in tears. "Kyou, you really came! I was so worried that you'd skip out again like last year and leave me all alone. I'll never doubt you again, I promise!"

"Big Brother Kyou is a hero!" said Kisa. "He saved me and Big Sister Tohru from being hit by a car!"

"Did he really?" Kagura hugged tighter, turning Kyou blue. "Oh, Kyou! That's so wonderful!"

"Leggo!" Kyou squirmed. "I can't breathe!"

Then the telephone rang. People in the yard had started to greet and talk to each other, but as soon as they heard the ring, everybody fell silent again. Kagura let go of Kyou and he dropped onto his knees, panting, but even he didn't say anything. All those dozens of people seemed to be holding their breath together as the phone rang twice, and then a woman appeared in a doorway. "Dr. Hatori," she said, holding out a cordless telephone reciever. "It's for you – it's the hospital."

"Thank you." Hatori got up and took the phone. "This is Dr. Souma Hatori speaking," he said. There was complete silence as he listened to the person who'd called. It was a scary kind of silence, Mom, the kind that makes the back of your neck all tickly, and it seemed to go on forever and ever until he finally said, "thank you. Yes, please do. Happy new year," and hung up. He looked around at everybody waiting, and announced, "Akito is stable; he will not need surgery. If he lives through the night, he will probably be fine."

"Doctor," a man spoke up – I only saw him from far away, so I couldn't be sure, but I think it was Momiji's father. "If Akito dies..."

"He is not likely to," Hatori cut him off.

"But if he _does_," the man insisted. "Then the next..."

"Yes," said Hatori.

"Did he have anyone in mind?"

"Yes," Hatori repeated. "He did. But that is hardly our main concern right now."

The man nodded and stepped back again. Nobody said anything for a moment, and it was horribly uncomfortable – then Shigure spoke up.

"Well, then," he announced. "No sense in letting all this marvelous food go to waste!"

The quiet conversations started up again right away. People began forming into groups and heading back indoors. I was amazed again, the way Shigure could just take charge of things.

"Tohru," he said to me, "come here. I want you to meet my baby sister." He waved for me to come, and introduced me to a woman with short dark hair, wearing a yellow kimono. "This is Souma Yayoi – Yayoi, this is Honda Tohru. Could you take her to meet the rest of the family?"

"Of course." Yayoi smiled at me. "Tohru, it's lovely to meet you finally – I've heard so much about you! Come with me, please." She offered me a hand.

I reached to take it, but then I heard somebody shout. I turned around, and saw Kisa clinging to her mother.

"Kisa," Mrs. Souma was saying, "sweetie, don't do that. Don't you want to eat with Hiro and the others, like you did last year?"

"No," said Kisa unhappily. "I want to eat with Big Brother Kyou!"

"I'm _not_ your big brother!" said Kyou.

"But honey," said Mrs. Souma, "this is how the family always does it. You'll miss seeing Granpa Hatori dance!"

"I don't _care_," Kisa insisted.

Hiro cleared his throat. "If Kisa wants to eat with Kyou," he said, "then I do, too."

"Please, Mom?" asked Kisa. "He _saved_ us!"

Mrs. Souma looked at Shigure for help.

"Well, Kisa," he began. "I'm afraid that..."

But Kagura interrupted him. "It's okay," she said. "You two can eat with Kyou if you want, and I'll come, too! We can have our own little party, just the four of us... we can pretend that Kyou and I are the Mommy and Daddy, and you two are..."

"Excuse me," said Kyou, "does somebody want to ask _me_ about this? Maybe I don't even _want_ to eat with you guys. Ever think of that?"

"It's not like it maters anyway." Kureno stood up. He swayed a little, as if he couldn't quite balance, and I saw that Hatori had put a bandage on his head. "Akito wouldn't allow it. You don't want to make Akito mad, do you, Kisa?"

Kisa hadn't thought about that. She shrank back.

"Yeah?" Yuki spoke up unexpectedly. "But Akito's not here... and I'll sit with them." He stepped over to join Kisa, Hiro, Kyou, and Kagura. "Somebody needs to protect this stupid cat from Kagura."

"What are you talking about, you damn rat?" Kyou demanded.

Shigure stared at them.

"Why should we all go eat with Kyou?" asked Hatsuharu. "I think Kyou should come and eat with us." He went to stand with the others. "I mean, come on, people – he saved Kisa's and Tohru's lives. Don't you think this is the least we can do for him after excluding him for so long?"

Rin joined them and slipped her arm through Hatsuharu's, without saying a word.

"Akito..." Kureno began.

"Isn't here!" Yuki repeated.

"He'll still find out!" snapped Kureno. "Shigure, they _can't_ do this!" He started to step forward, but Hatori grabbed his shoulders and forced him to sit down again.

Shigure looked at the group of eight, then at Kureno, and then for some reason, he looked at me.

I don't know what he expected _me_ to do, but I felt like I ought to say something. So I said, "you should let him. He's a hero, and it'll be like the cat is finally part of the zodiac."

"And why does _her_ opinion matter?" Kureno pointed at me. "She's not even part of this family!"

Shigure shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kureno," he said, but he was smiling as he went to join the others. "I'm afraid the majority has spoken. We'll just have to let Akito deal with it when he's well. Come along, then, everybody... Tohru, you have a good time."

"I will!" I promised. I was sure I would. And it made me feel so good to see Shigure and Hatsuharu each put an arm around Kyou's shoulders as they headed inside. Kyou glanced back and I saw that he looked rather nervous, so I smiled at him, and it was the best feeling in the world when he smiled back.

"Don't touch me," said Kureno angrily as Hatori tried to help him get up. "I'm fine. And Akito's _going_ to deal with it," he added darkly as he followed the rest. "Trust me, he will."


	5. V: A Celebration

**SHATTERED  
**By Irony-chan

--

V: A Celebration

Once the zodiac had gone, I was left behind with Souma Yayoi and a few people here and there who were also leaving to go start the celebrations. Most of them didn't pay any attention to me, but Yayoi offered me a hand. "So how old are you, Tohru?" she asked.

"Just seventeen," I replied. "My birthday was in November."

She nodded. "You'll be finishing high school soon, then. Will you be going to university?"

"Yes," I said. "My mother would have wanted me to. I'm just not sure what I want to take yet." I've been sort of worried about that, Mom. What if I choose the wrong thing, and get stuck with it? I wish I could ask you for advice.

"Well, that's normal," said Yayoi. She began leading the way through the maze of buildings inside Souma house, and I followed along behind. "I'm twenty-one and I _still_ haven't figured out what I want to do with myself. The trick," she told me, "is to find a way to make money while you figure it out."

I smiled – Shigure's sister was just like him! "My mother always said that I should do what I do best, and then work will never be hard."

"That's what Shigure does," Yayoi agreed. "He's always loved telling stories – when I was six years old, he would make up fairy tales to tell me before bed at night."

"Really?" I was delighted. I always love learning new things about the members of the Souma family, and that sounded so cute!

"Oh, yes," said Yayoi. "He didn't start writing stuff _down_ until he got into high school, though. Mom used to get upset because he'd be filling his notebooks with stories instead of writing down what the teacher was saying."

"She must be so proud of him now," I said.

"She is," Yayoi agreed. "All of us are." She climbed the steps to a veranda and slid the door open. "Come on inside."

It was getting chilly out and overcast, and I thought it would probably snow again soon, so I was glad to go in. Beyond the door was a big dining room, where a group of people were sitting around the table – a middle-aged man and woman, and a younger couple with a baby. All of them looked up when Yayoi and I took off our shoes and came in, and the first one to speak was the older man.

"Yayoi," he said, "did you find out what the sirens were all about?"

"There was a car accident," she replied. "Akito had to go to the hospital."

"Really?" asked the older woman.

"About bloody time," the younger man muttered.

"But apparently he's going to be fine," Yayoi continued. "Five months is a long time," she said, glaring at the young man. I guessed he must be her brother.

"A long time to drag it out in," he replied, annoyed. "I wish he'd _die_ and get it over with."

"Tetsuo!" the older man said. "Honestly! On New Year's Eve – and when we have a guest, too!" He smiled at me. "And who is this?"

"This," Yayoi said, "is Honda Tohru, the girl Shigure kept talking about in his emails. He wants her to have supper with us tonight."

"Of course!" said the man, smiling. "You're welcome, Tohru."

"Tohru," said Yayoi, "these are my parents, Souma Ariichi and Souma Hina, and this is my brother Tetsuo, his wife Akemi, and their daughter Yuka."

"Nice to meet all of you." I bowed, and sat down, but I was a bit puzzled. "I'm surprised you didn't come meet us out front," I said. "I mean, you must not see Shigure very often." Why hadn't they come to meet him at the gate?

"Oh, we never see him on New Year's Eve," said Shigure's father. "The zodiac have their own party. We'll visit tomorrow."

"I see," I said. I still wasn't very familiar with how things were done at Souma house, but that did make sense for the zodiac members who were grown up. If all of them had their feast together on New Year's Eve, then maybe they would all see their families the day after; maybe I'd get to meet Yuki and Kyou's parents, too!

"So," Mr. Souma said, "now that we're all here, let's eat before the soba noodles get cold!"

Dinner was absolutely fabulous! There was soba and ozoni soup, and osechi ryori of course, but there was also steamed flounder and sesame chicken loaf, huge shiitake mushrooms, grilled vegetables and green tea ice cream for dessert! I'd never seen so much food in my life, even when we ate at the hot spring, but the Soumas and I managed to eat every bite. And his family really _must_ have been very proud of Shigure, because they talked about almost nothing else.

"Most of the time," Shigure's father explained to me, "children born with the curse are sent here, to the Main House, to be raised. But I thought, would _I_ want to know that _my_ father had done that, that _I'd_ been sent away because of something that wasn't my fault? Of course I wouldn't. When children are born blind or disabled, their parents don't just send them away. This was no different. My son was _my_ responsibility, cursed or not."

I nodded. I hadn't ever really thought about it, Mom, but I think I would do the same thing.

"I wanted him to have a proper family," Mr. Souma continued. "So I remarried as soon as I could. I told Hina about the curse when I proposed to her..."

"And a good thing, too," Mrs. Souma put in. "I knew by then that _something_ was up with this family. I was relieved to find out it was only a curse – I was beginning to think I was about to marry into the mafia! Ariichi said," she continued," that if I didn't want to deal with it, then I never had to see him again. But he was absolutely right, that curse is no different from any other disability. I wouldn't have balked at marrying a man whose son was in a wheelchair, so why should I refuse one whose son turns into a dog sometimes?"

"She always said she liked being able to tell if he were being honest when he said he needed to stay home sick from school," said Yayoi. "Oh, and Mom, Dad, do you remember the time I wanted to take him for show and tell?"

"Indeed," said Mr. Souma. "I also remember how you used to ambush him in the mornings."

Yayoi grinned. "I would hide," she told me, "and when he passed me I would jump out and shout 'HUG ATTACK!' Mom _hated_ it, because I kept making him miss the school bus."

"_Yayoi_!" said Tetsuo, imitating his mother's voice. "How_ many times must I tell you, _don't_ hug your brother at breakfast_!" He shook his head. "Souma houses must be the only ones in which mothers tell their kids _that_."

I didn't say much while we ate, I just sat there and listened, and smiled and smiled until my face was sore. Shigure's family were all such wonderful people! Once he'd stopped grouching about Akito, even Tetsuo turned out to have a great sense of humour. It was no wonder Shigure was so nice, and so generous. They must've been proud of him for a lot more than just his writing.

Just after dessert, Rin's parents came in. Shigure's father introduced me to them, and then we all got into pairs and played a game of Monopoly. Yayoi and I won, and by the time the game was over, it was getting very late. I don't remember falling asleep, but I must have, because I woke up suddenly and found I was lying on somebody's tatami mat, and Yuki was shaking my shoulder.

"Tohru?" he said.

I yawned. "Yuki?" I sat up. "Oh, no, did I fall asleep? I hope I didn't miss sunrise!"

"You didn't." He smiled. "That's why I came and found you. Do you want to get up on the roof and watch it with me, like last year?"

"Of course," I said. I thought I'd better say thank you and happy new year to Shigure's family, but when I looked around, there was nobody in the room but Yuki and me. "Where is everybody?"

"They're watching the countdown to sunrise on television," said Yuki. "It's at 6:52, which is in..." he paused to check his watch, "eight minutes. There's a garbage can out back – we can get up on the roof from there."

It had snowed overnight; there was a fresh white layer over everything, and it had gotten just cold enough that the snow crunched under our feet as we climbed onto the can and from there to the roof. I had to be very careful not to get my kimono wet. Yuki thoughtfully brushed the snow away with his hands so I'd have a place to sit down, and I thought again how the girls at school don't know how much of a prince he really is.

"Where's Kyou?" I asked.

"Watching Kureno," said Yuki. "Hatori said somebody needed to make sure he doesn't fall asleep, and we figured Kyou would be best for the job. Neither of them will fall asleep when they're fighting like cats and dogs. How was _your_ evening?"

"It was fun," I said, tucking my knees up against my chest to keep myself warm. The air was freezing. "Shigure's family are wonderful people."

"I've always found them a bit overpowering, myself," said Yuki. "Get Shigure and Yayoi in the same room, and nobody else will be able to squeeze a word in for hours."

I could believe that. "What about _your_ parents?" I asked. "Are they here?"

He shook his head. "They're in Hong Kong. They moved there when I was eight, and they couldn't take Ayame and I with them because people with the curse have to stay where the main house can keep an eye on us. They've only made it back twice since."

"Oh," I said. "I'm sorry. You must miss them."

He shrugged. "I haven't seen them in six years. I'm not sure I even remember what they look like." He looked at his watch again. The sky was still dark blue overhead, but it was bright orange near the horizon, and there was a thin stripe of clouds that were lit up hot pink like a neon advertising sign. I remember how you used to tell me, Mom, that a beautiful sunrise is a promise of a beautiful year to come. "One more minute," said Yuki. "I've got my wish ready – do you have yours?"


	6. VI: An Embrace

**SHATTERED**  
By Irony-chan

* * *

  
VI: An Embrace

Before we'd left Shigure's house, I'd had a wish ready, Mom. I'd been going to wish that someday I could meet the last two members of the zodiac... but now I had, and I needed to come up with something different. So instead, I wished that Akito would be all right. Perhaps it wouldn't make a lot of difference when he had to die before his birthday anyway, but as long as somebody's still alive, good things can still happen to them. Akito had probably never had many good things happen, and he needed all the opportunity for them that he could get.

Yuki's watch beeped. "Six fifty-two," he said.

The horizon suddenly brightened, and I had to look away as the bright edge of the sun started to appear above the roofs of the city. "Happy New Year, Prince Yuki," I said.

"Happy New Year, Princess Tohru," he replied.

We sat there quietly for a moment, shivering in the cold morning air. I think New Year's Day must be my favourite day of the year, Mom. Everything is fresh and new, and the whole year is just waiting for me, three hundred and sixty five days in which _anything_ could happen... but hasn't yet.

"Tohru," said Yuki. "Could I... I mean... would it be all right if I gave you a hug?"

"Of course," I said.

"Thank you." He reached out and pulled me close, and I put my arms around his neck and got ready to catch him when he transformed. If it were chilly out for people with clothes on, then I thought it would be _terribly_ cold for somebody who was just a little rat, and I was planning to tuck him inside my kimono to keep him warm while we went back inside. But I hugged him, and waited... and somehow, nothing happened. After a few moments, we both sat up straight again and looked at each other, very confused.

"Tohru?" asked Yuki. He looked at me, then down at his hands, and then at me again.

"Yes?" I asked. "What happened? You didn't transform."

"I know." He looked down again, rubbing his arms and patting his chest just to make sure. "I don't... let's try it again."

"Okay," I said uncertainly, and this time, instead of being ready to catch him, I hugged him just as hard as I could. And he held me so tight I felt I could barely breathe... but _nothing happened_. I'd hugged him _twice_, Mom! The Soumas transformed if I even bumped into them by accident, and yet there we were, hugging each other, and... nothing!

Yuki started trembling. I thought for a momentthat it was justbecause he was cold, or maybe surprised, but then his breathing started to sound funny. "Yuki?" I asked. "Are you crying?"

I felt him shake his head. When he finally sat up, though, there were tears in his eyes... but not the sad kind of tears. Yuki wasn't crying because he was upset. He was crying at the same time as he was laughing.

"Oh, Tohru," he said, shaking his head, and then he laughed out loud and I realized I'd never _really_ heard him laugh before. He chuckled sometimes, or laughed quietly, and once when he had he'd told me he didn't often laugh like that... but _now_ he just tilted his head back and laughed and laughed out loud. It was almost a scary, as if he'd gone a little bit crazy. I had no idea what to do.

"Oh, _Tohru_!" he repeated. "I must be dreaming! Tohru, Tohru," he grabbed my shoulders. "Do you want to know what my New Year's wish was? I wished that just once, I could hug you without transforming, and then... I can't believe it! Let's try again!"

I could only squeak in surprise as he embraced me again, and then we both shouted as we lost our balance and tumbled off the edge of the roof. Fortunately, the building was only one storey and we landed in a snowdrift, so we weren't hurt, but we rolled way out into the yard before we were able to stop. I felt shaky and a little dizzy, and couldn't get up right away; I just lay there trying to breathe, and listening to Yuki laugh for joy.

Then I remembered what I was wearing, and it gave me the energy to scramble to my feet in horror.

"Oh, no!" I exclaimed. "My kimono!" And sure enough, the beautiful kimono Momiji had given me was all wet and covered in mud! "Oh, this is awful!" I moaned. "Kisa's mom will never forgive me! I'll have to have it cleaned right away, and... oh, _no_!" It was silk – it would have to be dry-cleaned and I wasn't sure I could afford that; I was behind on paying for class trips again! Oh, Mom, this was a disaster!

"I'll pay to have it cleaned, Tohru," said Yuki. He was still grinning as he brushed the snow off his jacket and trousers, and stood up.

"Oh, no, no, no, I couldn't ask you to do that," I protested... although I'm really not sure now whether it was that big of a deal. When I think about it... maybe I was just panicking because a dirty kimono was something I knew how to react to, while I really wasn't sure _what_ to do or say about Yuki hugging me. "This was all my fault anyway – I should have been more careful, and now we've _both_ fallen in the snow, and..."

"Tohru!" Yuki put his hands on my shoulders again. "Relax! I _will_ pay for the dry cleaning! I would pay for it a thousand times over, I would sell all my clothes and go live in a tent like you did to be able to do what I just did!" And then he hugged me a third time. "I love you, Tohru, you're my best friend and my sister and _everything_ to me, and I'm not letting go of you until I wake up or transform – whatever happens first!"

So we just stood there, in the middle of the yard at sunrise, all wet and muddy and holding on to each other. We must have looked very foolish, but I didn't ever want it to stop, either.

But of course we couldn't actually stand there forever. It was cold out, and the longer we hugged with nothing happening, the colder we got and the sillier we felt. Finally, and very reluctantly, Yuki loosened his grip. I let go of him and stepped back, and then... well, I didn't know _what_ to do then, but it was very awkward, and I felt my face get hot. I must have been bright red. Yuki was embarrassed, too – he kept looking at his feet instead of at me, but he wouldn't let go of my hands.

"We should go inside," he said.

"Okay," I nodded. "I'll make some tea, and maybe there'll be some leftovers to snack on."

"That sounds nice," said Yuki. "We had cake with strawberries at the zodiac banquet. There might still be some if Shigure and Ayame haven't eaten it all."

We were still holding hands as we headed indoors, but after a few steps Yuki changed his mind and instead put his arm around my shoulders. He let go when we got inside, though.

The big hall where the zodiac had eaten was almost empty. Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame were sitting at the far end of the table playing cards, but there wasn't anybody else in the room, and the table was covered with dishes that hadn't been cleared away.

"Hello, lovebirds," said Shigure. "A bit cold for gazing at the... Tohru?" His eyebrows rose when he saw the state of our clothing. "What happened to you two?"

"Well..." I looked at Yuki... and neither of us _said_ anything, but somehow we agreed that we were going to keep what had just happened a secret. There wasn't really any reason _why_, I don't think. We just were. "I slipped," I said. "And fell. We both fell off the roof, I mean," I added, figuring I might as well tell as much of the truth as I could – I've never liked lying, Mom. "But there was all this snow piled up at the bottom, and we landed in that. So don't worry, we're okay!"

Shigure nodded. "Good thing you didn't fall on Yuki," He said cheerfully. "Sit down and warm up. I'm sure we can find somebody to loan you some clothes while yours dry, and there's hot tea and lots of leftovers. Care to join us for a game?" he held up the deck of cards.

"Sure," I said, and took a seat.

Yuki hung his jacket on a peg, and sat down next to me. "I'll play, too," he said.

"Will you really?" asked Ayame, although it came out as 'bil you reddy?' because he was talking through a plugged nose. His face was all red and he was wearing a thick flannel housecoat. "That's wonderful! It's so nice to see you in the New Year's Spirit, Yuki – able to forgive your brother all his offenses against you and indulge in the simple pleasure of joining him in a game of cards!"

"I feel like I could forgive anybody anything right now," said Yuki.

I smiled. "How are you feeling, Ayame?" I asked. "Hatsuharu told me you were sick."

He sniffled theatrically. "Well, I suppose I must be doing better, but I'm not... not... ha... ah... ACHOO! Not feeling it, myself." He rubbed at his nose.

"That was the fakest sneeze I ever heard," said Yuki.

"What? How heartless!" Ayame exclaimed. "And here you just said you could forgive me anything!"

"I forgive you," said Yuki. "But it was still fake."

I just laughed. I've wanted to see Yuki and Ayame get along for such a long time, and now here they were, acting just like normal brothers. I had a feeling it wouldn't last, but it was wonderful to see!

"Who wants to deal?" asked Shigure.

"I will!" I said. "What game are we playing?"

Shigure started to answer, but before he could, the door suddenly flew open and in ran Yayoi, blowing on a New Year's noisemaker. "Happy New Year, Big Brother Shigure!" she said.

"Oh, no," he held up his hands.

"Oh, yes!" She tossed the noisemaker aside. "New Year's HUG ATTACK!" she proclaimed, and pounced on him. He laughed as she knocked him over, they rolled across the floor and up against the wall... and then Yayoi shrieked and scrambled off of him. Shigure sat up, looked at himself, looked at Yayoi... Yuki and I both jumped to our feet, and Hatori and Ayame could only stare.

Mom... Shigure didn't transform, either.


	7. VII: An Epiphany

**SHATTERED**  
By Irony-chan

* * *

VII: An Epiphany

Another strange thing about the way peoples' minds work is how something totally obvious can just escape our notice... and then suddenly we wake up and realize we knew it all along. I guess that's sort of the same as how we never see small changes while they're still happening, but not quite, because it counts for things that don't change, too. We can sort of have something in the back of our minds, and never realize its significant... that's what happened to me when I saw the whole zodiac gathered in the big dining room, about half an hour later.

After the banquet, they'd all wandered off all across the estate, and it took us quite a while to find them all. I was sent to get Kisa and Hiro. It turned out that they'd nodded off in front of the television last night, and Kisa's mom had just covered them both up with a blanket and left them there. Kisa was leaning her head on Hiro's shoulder, and they looked so cute I really hated to wake them.

Yuki found Kyou and Kureno in somebody's bedroom, playing a video game together while Kyou kept shouting at Kagura to stop cheering him on. Hatori had to drag Momiji away from playing hide and go seek with a few of the younger Souma children. Ayame brought Ritsu, who was apologizing madly – he thought he'd overslept and missed something important. And Shigure found Hatsuharu and Rin. He didn't say where they'd been, but they looked embarrassed and unhappy, and Shigure kept winking at them.

So there was everybody, all in the same room. This was the first time I'd really seen all the zodiac at once, all in one place, and that's when I noticed – even though I'd known it all along – how very _young_ they all were. It hadn't seemed significant before, but the oldest members of the zodiac were Shigure and Ayame and Hatori, and even they were younger than thirty. All of a sudden it seemed strange that all thirteen of them should have been born within the same twenty-year period.

It made me wonder if they all die before a certain age like Akito, but that didn't seem right at all. Hadn't someone told me that the last person with the curse of the cat was Kyou's great-grandfather or something? So was it just a coincidence that they were all young, or was there some other reason?

"All right, then," said Shigure. "I suppose you're all wondering why we've dragged you in here so early in the morning." It was a bit weird to watch him; he kept rubbing at the back of his neck, and he sounded more serious, and more uncomfortable, than I'd ever heard him before... as ifhe was dressed in clothing that didn't quite fit. Between that and Yuki's laughing earlier, it was enough to make me think that maybe I didn't really _know_ any of the Soumas at all.

Shigure went on, laughing nervously: "So I guess we'd better explain, hadn't we? Yuki and Tohru tell me they noticed it first, so why don't we let them tell it?" He nodded at me.

Oh, I wish he hadn't said that, Mom! I had _no_ idea what was happening... but then, I suppose none of the rest did, either, which made me as good a person as any to have to say. I licked my lips and took a deep breath.

"Well... um... what happened," I said, "was that Yuki and I were sitting on the roof and watching the sun come up. And then when it did, he asked if he could hug me. So I said yes, and he did..." I could feel my cheeks getting warm, having to say this in front of everybody. "And... well, I'm not sure what caused it. At first I thought it was just... Yuki said he'd made a wish for New Year's that he could hug me..." my face got even warmer. "We did... and he didn't..."

"We did this." Yuki stepped up and put his arms around me from behind.

Everybody stared.

The first person to speak up was Kyou. "Hey," he said. "How are you doing that?"

"I want to try!" Momiji ran forward and grabbed me. He didn't transform, but he did nearly knock me over, and Yuki had to catch me or I'd have fallen flat on the floor. It was so weird... or I guess it wasn't weird, it was normal, but after living at Shigure's house for more than a year, I'd just gotten so used to the curse that it _seemed_ weird. Come to think of it, I'd even stared avoiding getting too close to boys in other places, just out of force of habit. To suddenly have them all over me and _none_ of them turning into animals, by comparison it was very odd.

"All right, runt, that's enough." Kyou dragged Momiji off me. "The rest of us need a turn, too." And then _he_ hugged me! I don't even want to know what colour my face was, Mom. I must have looked like a big brown-haired tomato!

"Aww!" said Momiji. "That's so cute – Kyou wants to hug Tohru!"

Kyou let go of me as if I'd burned him. "You shut your mouth," he told Momiji. "I was just _testing_ it!"

"Oh, _suuuuure_ you were." Momiji grinned.

"Let me try!" said Hiro.

I don't think I've ever been so embarrassed, not ever, but I couldn't hardly say no... so I just stood there while all the boys in the zodiac came and hugged me, one by one; even Hatori and Kureno had a go, just to make sure. None of hem transformed, and then Yayoi brought in a boy who'd been playing in the snow outside and told him she'd give him a hundred yen if he let Rin, Kagura, and Kisa each hug him.

It really seemed like too good to be true, Mom, but there it was... I didn't know how it had happened, but it looked like the curse was broken.

"I see," said Shigure, after they let the little boy go back outside.

"Now what?" Hiro asked.

"Well..." Shigure rubbed his chin. "I... I guess..."

"Kyou!" exclaimed Kagura. Everybody looked at her, and then everyone kind of gasped at once when they saw what she was shouting about; Kyou was starting to take his bracelet off. He had it halfway down his hand, and if it hadn't been for Kagura grabbing him, he would have had it right off without anybody else noticing.

"Oh," I began. "Kyou..."

"Kyou," Shigure said. "I do realize..."

"Shut up, all of you," said Kyou. "It's the only way we're ever gonna know. Just keep your pants on. Even if I do transform, it's not like I'm gonna hurt anybody." He pushed Kagura away from him, and then he ripped the bracelet off so hard the string snapped. Black and white beads flew everywhere, clattering across the floor. Everyone in the room took a step backwards, Hatsuharu grabbed Kisa, and Kagura covered her face.

But nothing happened.

"It's really gone," Kyou said, rubbing at his wrist as if he didn't quite believe it. "It's really _gone_. It's broken."

"How did this _happen_?" asked Kureno.

"Well, I did make that wish," Yuki ventured.

"Don't be an idiot," said Kyou. "If all it took was a wish we'd have found out years ago."

"Indeed," said Shigure mildly, and then he looked at me again. "But I think Tohru knows the answer."

"Me?" I asked. "W... what makes you think that? I don't know any more than you do... in fact, I probably know less!" I've always felt that there were some things they weren't telling me about the curse, but I'd never liked to ask because of course it's really not any of my business. "I don't think it was anything I did, if that's what you mean – I can't think of anything I might have _done_! I can't even make Kyou and Yuki stop arguing for a day, never mind break curses, and..." but thinking of that made me think of something else, and then I realized.

"Yes?" Shigure prompted.

I swallowed. "Kyou ate with you, didn't he?"

"Well, yes..." said Hatsuharu. "So what?"

"Well, the cat was included," I explained. "Maybe that's all it took."

"This is hardly the first time he's been counted in for something," Hatori pointed out.

"True, true," agreed Shigure. "He always joins in for the _rest_ of New Year's, and he's been on family vacations and such things."

"But with the whole zodiac?" I asked.

"No, she's right," said Yuki. "I wouldn't have believed it, but she's right. We were all there last night... and we all stood up for Kyou, remember? For the first time, more of us wanted him with us than not. We accepted the cat."

"That can't be right," said Kureno. "_I_ didn't accept him."

"No," said Shigure thoughtfully. "Not explicitly... but you didn't reject him, either. You could have refused to eat with the rest of us, but you just resigned yourself to his presence. If we just had to accept him without necessarily _liking_ him, then that might just have been it."

"Uh..." Kyou held up a hand. "I _am_ right here, you know," he said.

I smiled. "You see?" I asked, "I didn't break the curse, then – Kisa did! She's the one who insisted on eating with Kyou!"

"I don't believe it," Yuki repeated. "Who would have thought it would be so easy?"

"I don't know if I would say it was all _that_ easy," said Shigure... but whatever it was he meant by that, he didn't get to explain. He was interrupted when the telephone rang in the next room. Everybody stopped and stood there frozen, like it was the scariest thing they'd ever heard, while it rang three, four, five times.

"Excuse me," said Hatori, and got up to go answer it. Through the wall, we couldn't hear what he was actually saying, but it was a very short conversation, and then he came back in, sat down, and lit a cigarette. Nobody said anything.

"Hari?" asked Momiji. "Who was it?"

"The hospital. They said Akito's going to be just fine," he replied.

"They did?" said Kagura.

Hatori nodded. "He needed surgery to set a broken collarbone, but otherwise his injuries were not as severe as they appeared. He should be home in less that a week... possibly as soon as the third."

"What are we going to tell him when he gets here?" asked Yuki.

"I guess we'll just have to cross _that_ bridge when we come to it," Shigure replied.


End file.
